Method of forming mower guards



Feb. 24; 1931. -c. PEARSON ,7 7

METHOD .OF FORMING MOWER GUARDS Filed Jan. 20, 1930 get Patented Feb. 24, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CHARLES PEARSON, OF OICERO, ILLINOIS. ASSIGNOR 'I'O INTERNATIONAL HARVESTER COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY METHOD OF FORMING MOWER GUARDS Application filed January 20, 1930.

This invention relates to a method of forming mower guards.

Such guards are standard equipment on mowing machines, grain binders, and other forms of har 'esting machines. The same are usually formed by casting, and the 16C ger plate surfaces thereof must be machined. A great saving in the cost of manufacture can be entailed by simplifying the method of forming such mower guards. It is, therefore, desirable that forging be employed in this connection. but great diliiculty is encountered in forging the ledger plate surface, because the lip of these guards acts as an obstruction preventing the use of forging, as it is difficult to get the die to the surface to be forged.

Accordingly it is an object of this invention to provide a method whereby conventionally shaped guards may be so formed that the ledger surface thereof may be forged.

This desirable object is briefly achieved by forming a mower guard of conventional shape. The improved method of this invention comprises the primary step of slitting the lip in alongitudinal direction and then spreading apart the two parts of the lip thus formed, outwardly or laterally relative to the body to expose the upper surface of said so body, whereby the forging die may be passed down to said surface of the guard without meeting any obstruction, as will later be more clearly made apparent.

In the accompanying showing the manner of proved method,

Figure 1 is a plan view of a conventional mower guard with the lip thereof slit or cut longitudinally and spread to expose the upper ledger plate surface of the guard;

Figure 2 is a side view of the guard showing the lip portions spread apart;

Figure 3 is a plan view of the coinpletet guard; and,

Figure at is a side view of the finished guard.

It is to be understood that this guard is standard in all respects except in so far as the method of making the same is concerned and that it comprises the usual body 10, lip

sheet of drawings practlcmg the 1m- Serial No. 421,904.

11 extending at an angle from the body and leaving the usual space 12 through which the sickle reciprocates. The guard also includes the usual heel 13 for securement to the cutter bar and the wings 14, which in the well known manner serve as spacers and abutmcnts. The guard also includes the usual lug 15 serving as a back stop for a ledger plate, not shown, which rests on the ledger surface 16 comprising the upper surface of the bony 10. An opening 17 extends upwardly through the body to receive a rivet for securing the ledger in place and the body may be formed hollow, as indicated at 18, to make the same as light as possible and to save metal.

The guard of this invention may initially be formed in any suitable manner, such, for example, as by casting. This results in a guard with its lip ll closed. The first stop of the improved method of this invention is then to slit said lip 11 centrally and longitudinally of its length, as shown in Figure 3, as by cutting, sawing, or in any other appropriate manner. This leaves two lip portions 11. The lip portions are then heated and next separated by spreading the same in a lateral direction, as shown in Figures 1 and 2. As the wings 11 have now been bent back, the upper surface 16 of the guard body is exposed. This ermits use of forging die,

which now can be passed downvmrdlyto fprg'e the surface 16 to adapt the same for receiving the ledger plate. As the wings are out of the way, they, of course, form no obstruction to the passage of the die between the parts 11. This forging operation obviously can be performed in one step.

With this accomplished, the lip are re-heated and then bent back toward each other to the position Figure 3, with the inner edges of said lip parts 11 closely abutting each other. Thus the guard is finished and ready for aflixation to the cutter bar of a mower or other harvester.

From this detailed description it must now be apparent that this invention solves the problem of economically producing mower guards in a manner permitting the ledger plate surfaces thereof to be forged.

parts 11 inwardly shown in i;

It is the intention to cover all such changes and variations of this invention as do not materially depart from the spirit and scope of the same as indicated by the definitions comprising the appended claims.

lVhat is claimed is:

1. The method of forming a mower guard of conventional shape comprising the steps of forming the guard with its usual lip, slitting thelip longitudinally, spreading the two parts of the lip thus formed laterally to expose the upper surface of the body of the guard, and finally forging said surface to adapt the same to receive a ledger plate by passing the die downwardly between the spread parts of the lip.

2. The-method of forming a mower guard of conventional shape comprising the steps ,of casting the guard with its usual lip, cut

ting the lip longitudinally, spreading the two parts of the hp thus formed outwardly to expose the upper surface of the body of the guard and finall for 'iu said surface in a 7 1'3 2:)

single operation to a dapt the same to receive a ledger plate by passing the die downwardly between the'spread parts of the die.

3. The method of forming a mower guard of conventional shape comprising the steps of casting the guard with its usual lip, cutting the lip longitudinally, heating the two parts of the lip thus formed and spreading the same apart laterally toexpose the upper surface of the body of the guard, and finally forging said surface to adapt the same to receive a :ledger plate by passing the die downwardly between-the spread parts of the lip.

a. The method of forming a mower guard of conventional shape comprising the steps of casting the guard with its usual lio, cutting theslip longitudinally, heating the two parts of the lip thus formed and spreading the same apart laterally to expose the upper surface of the body of the guard, then forging said surface to adapt the same to receive a ledger plate by passing the die downwardly between the spread parts of the lip, then re-heating said spread parts of the lip, and finally bringing said spread parts bacl: into place again to complete the guard.

5. The method of forming a mower guard of conventional shape by temporarily bending the lip relative to the body to eXpose the upper surface-thereof, then forging said surface of the guard in a single operation to adapt the same to receive the usual ledger plate, and finally bending said lip back to its normal position.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

CHARLES PEr neon. 

